New England Association
of Schools and Colleges
Commission on Public Schools
MPA Fall Conference
November 19, 2015
The Current Status of the Accreditation Process
Changes that have been made in the past 18 months
The Future of Accreditation The work of the Self-Study Redesign Committee
The Value to You and Your School
Accreditation process was ◦ too prescriptive
◦ took too much time
◦ required schools to stop other work
◦ caused HS to be “out of sync” with the rest of the district
◦ redundant with other mandated processes
◦ too expensive
◦ “one size fits all”
Maine Representatives
◦ Dwayne Conway, Principal, Maranacook Community HS, Readfield, ME
◦ Shanna Crofton, Principal, Brunswick HS, Brunswick, ME
◦ Jeff Shedd, Principal, Cape Elizabeth HS, Cape Elizabeth, ME
◦ David Walker, Superintendent, RSU #34, Old Town, ME
The Current Status of Accreditation
Meetings with principals/superintendents in all 6 New England States (2013)
Summer Chairs’ Workshop (2014/2015)
Committee to revise Standards (2014)
Committee to revise Rating Guides (2014)
Reviewing and Revising the Pre-Self-Study and the Self-Study processes (ongoing)
Reviewing and Revising the Accreditation visit protocol (ongoing)
Reviewing and Revising the Standards (late Fall/early Winter)
The Committee on Public Secondary Schools (CPSS)
The Future of Public School Accreditation Committee (BOT)
The Advisory Committee
The PSS/SS Committee
A targeted revision was made in the summer of 2014
A comprehensive revision will begin this late fall/early winter
◦ Standard 5 Rating Guide Revisions Indicator 2
Indicator 3
◦ Changes in Language (All Rating Guides)
Adopting more formative language
Not Yet Meeting the Standard
“Fails”
◦ Changes in what qualifies as “not meeting the standard” (All Rating Guides)
A crosswalk between the CPSS Standards and the Common Core State Standards has been developed/available on our website
A crosswalk between the CPSS Standards and each individual state’s mandates and initiatives has been developed
Crosswalks are available on our website and will be sent out to each school
A crosswalk between the CPSS Standards and each individual state’s mandates and initiatives has been developed
Crosswalks are available on our website and have been sent to each school
Accreditation Portal◦ Self-Study◦ Visiting Committee Report◦ Follow-up process
All 2017 schools will use the portal for their Self-Study
Most visiting committees starting in Fall 2015
The Follow-up functions will be available in 2016
The Future of Accreditation
Brian Walsh Principal Hermon HS, Hermon, ME
Tom McDowell Teacher Yarmouth HS, Yarmouth, ME
Accreditation Protocols◦ Shorter Self-Study (1 year)◦ Differentiate Use of Staff◦ Use of existing artifacts as evidence◦ Focus on school/district priorities◦ Smaller Visiting Committees◦ Fewer recommendations focused on Standards
using Indicators as guidance
Participating Massachusetts Schools◦ Smith Academy, Hatfield, MA (Spring 2015)
Participating Maine Schools◦ Lisbon High School, Lisbon, ME
Participating Maine Schools◦ Boothbay Regional HS, Boothbay Harbor, ME
◦ Medomak Valley HS, Waldoboro, ME
◦ Old Orchard Beach HS, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Participating Massachusetts Schools◦ Reading Memorial High School, Reading, MA
◦ Burlington High School, Burlington, MA
Standards Review and Revision◦ Planned for early winter 2016◦ Completion by the end of the summer of 2016◦ A natural extension of the Self-Study Redesign◦ Time for schools to respond to any changes
Standards Review◦ Less prescriptive◦ More flexible◦ Increased focus on school improvement◦ Greater emphasis on goals rather than specific
strategies to accomplish the goals◦ Focus on Standards using Indicators as guidance◦ Encourage schools to adopt a “growth mindset”
We are currently working with a number of districts who are interested in a district-wide approach to Accreditation
The district would Accredit each of its schools K-12
The process of district Accreditation could look different in different districts depending on the size of the district/number of schools
District Accreditation would allow the district to look at all schools systemically
District Accreditation will allow the district to develop coordinated improvement plans for all schools in a district
The Self-Study and the Accreditation visit would be completed district-wide
The Value to You
Your School and
the School Community
To the School
◦ Allows the school to conduct a rigorous analysis of present conditions so that needed changes may be carefully planned
◦ Provides a focus on the bigger picture and the school as a whole
◦ Allows the school to focus on systemic school improvement
To Students
◦ Assures students that their needs are being met through a quality educational program
◦ Assures that their credits will be accepted should their family relocate
◦ Provides colleges with the assurance that students have received a quality educational preparation
To School Committee Members
◦ Assures the school committee and the public that their programs and policies are consistent with research and best practices
◦ Provides school committee members with an opportunity to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the school
◦ Provides a proven framework to create a school improvement plan
To the Community
◦ Assures citizens that their tax money is supporting quality educational programs and services
◦ Provides an objective third-party peer review of educational programs and services
◦ Provides a demonstrable and positive effect on local property values
◦ Provides a comprehensive qualitative accreditation report to guide future decisions
Annual Membership dues (based on enrollment) ◦ $3,245
◦ Range $2,645 to $4,855
Average cost for 10 Year accreditation visit◦ $18,740 includes
Hotels/Travel/Meals for Visiting Committee
Endicott survey
Reaccreditation Fee
Miscellaneous costs
The portal/smaller Visiting Committees will reduce these costs
School Visitations
Consultancy Services (as needed)
Monitoring of School Progress throughout the 10 year accreditation cycle
Seminars (three major seminars annually)
Conferences (three annually)
Showcase of Model School Programs
Verification of Accreditation status for colleges, employers, ICE
Participating on a visiting team is excellent professional development - 82% agree or strongly agree
Accreditation drives our school to focus on school improvement - 70% agree or strongly agree
Accreditation improves teaching and learning at our school(s) - 67% agree
Schools report the following benefits from accreditation
◦ Opportunity for teachers from different subject areas to collaborate (97%)
◦ Opportunity to review our core values and beliefs (96%)
◦ Experience of receiving peer review (95%)
◦ Requirement to refresh our focus on our strategic direction/plan (94%)
◦ Opportunity to ask hard questions and think critically about where we excel and where we need to improve (86%)
Areas of improvement – part of our improvement plan
◦ 77% said going paperless was the top priority
◦ 71% of respondents think that Standards should be more flexible
◦ Members are also looking for more communication from NEASC-CPSS via social media (76%) and webinars (57%)
◦ Align the Standards more closely with government requirements - 66% agree or strongly agree
Thank You
Maine Principals Association